Creating a garden from scratch....

Hi,

my name is shaun. I am new to the site and gardening. I have looked around the site and it is great and I can see that it will give me lots of ideas and inspiration.

I guess I am lucky that I have a blank canvas in terms of a garden. I also have a limited budget so have been doing a little at a time. We moved into our new house in February 2007. The main attraction was the size of the garden which we felt was good for a new build house. The house is in a beautiful location on the outskirts of a small village and we plan to stay here forever. With this in mind I am looking to develop a garden that initially is family friendly and equally can develop over time to give us a peaceful and beautiful space to enjoy. The big dis-advantage is that the house is overlooked by so many other houses so I want to create screening but realise it will take time....

I will attach photos to show the journey so far....

My wife and I are new to gardening, so we would love any comments or suggestions. So far I have tended to plant what I like and ralise this may not be the best plan so I intend to read more and get some garden design books...

 

hopefully pictures will attach here....

These pictures are from roughly Feb 2008. As you can see we have the lawn in and have planted a laurel hedge....

This is the back garden:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1512&stc=1&d=1268665602

Another of back garden:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1513&stc=1&d=1268665602

Back garden from another angle:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1514&stc=1&d=1268665602

Front garden:

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1515&stc=1&d=1268665602

Front/side garden

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1516&stc=1&d=1268665602

 

Here are the pictures of the garden taken last year (sept time). The garden looks like this still...

by this stage I have not changed the front garden at all so no change there...

As you will see I have dug a basic border and planted some clematis on the back fence and a few shrubs which I hope will bring some colour

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1519&stc=1&d=1268683876

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1520&stc=1&d=1268683876

The laurel hedge was making great progress in less than 16 months.... I also planted a bamboo plant in the far corner which has established itself very quickly....

http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1520&stc=1&d=1268683876
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1518&stc=1&d=1268683876
http://www.gardenerscorner.co.uk/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1521&stc=1&d=1268683876

I am planning to build a seating area up in front of the bamboo, this corner gets the sun all day. Ideally I would love some kind of gazibo here.... The existing patio area is very large and basic slabs, but it serves a purpose currently as it houses the kids trampoline and saves the grass.....

I would value any oppinions or views

cheers

 

Hi and welcome. Looks like you have a good space there to work with. I would recommend you do nothing much for the moment, but do some research, online and in books to try and decide what you want to have in the garden. As you are probably doing in the house, you don't decorate straight away but live with it for a while and see what appeals. Look at parts of the garden get sun and at what times.

Above all, have fun - you have a great blank canvas there to work with.

 

Hi dprovan and welcome.

I too started with a completely blank canvas like yours and no knowledge of gardening. The first thing to do is to get a rough idea of what sort of style you like. I did this by looking through lots of gardening books with pictures. At each picture I stopped and said what do I like about that and what don't I like. After a while I decided that I didn't like formal with straight lines, and I didn't like modern with metal sculpture, but I did like the enclosed secluded informal look. I also liked colours that blended well, pink, purple and blue, but not strident yellows and oranges.

At the end of the day you need to find garden scenes that you like and just copy them. The more you think about it the more ideas will evolve.

 

Hi, Shaun, it's a great start you made with your garden, and a blank canvas can be turned to your advantage. I'd put in some smaller-growing evergreen trees, e.g. Variegated Ilexes that can be pruned to a lovely sphere, and some more Chamaecyparises that can be shaped over time as well. They'd screen your garden from the neighbours, and allow your garden to step into the third dimension.

If your only fixed point is the gazebo in the corner, then you can plan your planting however you like! I'd divide it into 'rooms', given that it already has two definite parts: the big area for the kids, the other, smaller one for mom and dad. :D If you give some more details as to the style you'd like to follow, it's easier to say what - and how to plant...:wink: